Sheriff's Dept. investigators are trying to get to the bottom of an odd incident that took place Monday afternoon, May 13, on Stage Coach Lane in Fallbrook. The scene led to a mother of three sustaining injuries at the hand of a stranger.

Sgt. Patrick Yates said for an unknown reason "a female walked into a neighbor's house in the 200 block of Stage Coach Lane; as far as we know, they did not know each other."

The woman that resided in the house was at home with her three children.

"The neighbor then started to hit the female victim with a shovel, including one time in the head," said Yates.

As the attack began to unfold, Yates said the victim escaped from the house [to get help] and "the suspect locked herself in the house with the victim's kids."

A call to 911 went out about 2:30 p.m. As a result, the Sheriff's ASTREA helicopter was launched over the area and deputies responded to the scene right away.

"Deputies forced entry into the home, removed the children, and took the suspect into custody," explained Yates. The children were not injured. Their mother was treated and released from a hospital.

Yates said at this time detectives have not been able to determine a motive for the crime.

"We don't know why it [occurred at] that house or to that person," he said.

The incident took place in a 30 to 40 minute time frame.

*The Sheriff's Dept. updated their comment on Wed., May 15 to state that the suspect used a shovel, not a hammer to attack the resident of the house.